Amazon ’s Alexa - power obelisk is build up for a lot of things , but accessing web page is n’t one of them . “ Alexa , take me to Google.com ” is adjoin with a nonplused “ I ca n’t notice that skill ” from Jeff Bezos ’s newest exploiter data sponge . But with a eccentric workaround , there is a way to get at a very , very modified browser app on the Echo Show , and it might help more skilled hackers sideload new apps onto the twist .
How do you get to this bare - bones web internet browser , as let on by YouTuber Dave Bennett ? make out with me on impossibly silly dangerous undertaking through unintended drug user permissions :
pilfer down on the Echo Show home screen and knock on “ options ”
Images: Bryan Menegus
Scroll all the way down and tap “ Legal & Compliance ”
Tap “ Amazon.com Privacy Policy ” and under the subheading What Choices Do I Have ? tap the “ wish lists ” contact — now you ’re on Amazon.com , but you ’ll notice the browser app is so lightweight it does n’t have a URL bar , so we ’re not done yet .
explore on Amazon for Google , then tip Google Search . It should be the first solvent .
Under “ Technical Details ” is a contact to Google ’s privacy policy .
Tap “ my account ” in the upper righthand corner , followed by “ search ” in the left field . Now you ’re at Google.com , free to search your heart out .
Is this massively involved ? Does it constitute one of the unsound browsing experiences imaginable ? Does the Echo Show reverting to the home screen after 5 seconds of inactivity make it somewhat useless ? avowedly , in all cases , yes .
Silverlight does n’t descend pre - jam-packed , so the Netflix home page freight , but actual video is a no - go ; Flash issues also kill Crunchyrolll ; other ( working ) television streaming service do n’t do much better because the Echo Show will leap back to its home screen while continuing to play phone from a World Wide Web - based telecasting with no obvious agency to turn it off . oddly though , it does appear to store login info , even after powering down and unplugging the whole , which is both good and unfit .
As for sideloading , well , we were ineffectual to get Chrome to download from the Play Store . All Amazon devices run change versions of Android , but contract into Google and trying to grab a Chrome APK off Drive fared no better — the Echo Show acted like it was downloading the file but afford no option to open it .
Still , because this hulking black box has perfectly no South Dakota card slot , no USB inputs , and no i / o selection whatsoever other than ability , web web browser access might be the first step towards people ( who are intimately verse in Android mathematical product than me ) opening up the Echo Show ’s functionality .
[ h / tDave Bennett ]
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